A: I attribute it to, one, the Junior Olympic Archery Development (JOAD) program. There is a JOAD program in Oklahoma City that shoots at H&H in the winter and at Trosper Archery Club from basically Easter to Halloween. They meet every Saturday morning at 9 a.m. The other one, believe it or not, is Hollywood with the movies “The Hunger Games” and “Brave,” and TV shows like “Arrow” and, believe it or not, “The Walking Dead.” They shoot crossbows in it. I get a lot of people in here who say they want to get a crossbow like the one in “The Walking Dead.”

How many of new shooters are hunters as opposed to just recreational target shooters?

I say it is about 50-50. There are a lot of people doing it for recreation and believe it or not, stress relief. It is a physical activity. It seems to help relieve stress.

Is it expensive to get started in the sport?

If you shoot traditional archery, it is not that expensive. You can get into it for under $200. The least expensive good, quality compound hunting bow is in the $350 range.

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Ed Godfrey was born in Muskogee and raised in Stigler. He has worked at The Oklahoman for 25 years. During that time, he has worked a myriad of beats for The Oklahoman including both the federal and county courthouse in Oklahoma City for more...